Tauri vs Electron - Building Desktop Apps in 2025

Building cross-platform desktop apps with web technologies is more popular than ever. For years, Electron dominated the space - powering apps like VSCode, Discord, Slack, and Figma. But in recent years, Tauri emerged as a serious alternative.

Now that Tauri v2 is stable, how does it really compare to Electron in 2025?

Let’s break it down from a practical developer perspective.

Stack & Architecture

Feature	Electron	Tauri v2
Backend runtime	Node.js	Rust
Webview engine	Bundled Chromium	System-native WebView (WebKit on macOS, WebView2 on Windows, etc.)
Frontend	Any (React, Vue, Svelte, etc.)	Same - frontend-agnostic
IPC	Node ↔ Renderer via Electron APIs	Rust ↔ Web via `tauri.invoke` & `commands`

Developer Experience

Electron: Feels like building a Node app with browser UI - familiar if you’re already working with JS fullstack.
Tauri: Requires basic Rust setup (but you don’t need to write Rust unless you want native features). More secure by default.

App Size

	Electron	Tauri
Blank app	~80–150 MB	~3–5 MB
Browser	Ships entire Chromium	Uses native system WebView
Memory usage	Higher	Lower (often by 50-80%)

This is where Tauri really wins. Smaller binaries, less RAM usage - better for lightweight tools or internal apps.

Security

Tauri was designed with security in mind from day one:

Uses content security policies by default
Runs Rust code outside of renderer context
Encourages minimal IPC surface

Electron gives you more flexibility, but also more room for mistakes if you’re not careful (e.g. exposing require() in renderer).

Performance

Cold start: Tauri apps open faster, especially on older hardware
RAM: Tauri can consume as little as 50-100 MB vs Electron’s 400+ MB
Rendering: Electron uses latest Chromium, which may be more consistent across systems — but heavier

Tooling & Dev Workflow

Both support hot reload, custom bundlers, and integration with any frontend framework
With Tauri v2, tauri dev works seamlessly with vite, astro, or webpack
Electron has a more mature ecosystem, but Tauri is catching up fast

Example tauri.conf.json setup:

{
  "build": {
    "beforeBuildCommand": "npm run build",
    "devPath": "http://localhost:5173"
  },
  "tauri": {
    "bundle": {
      "identifier": "com.example.app",
      "icon": ["icons/icon.png"]
    }
  }
}

And in your frontend, you can call backend logic like this:

import { invoke } from '@tauri-apps/api';

await invoke('greet', { name: 'Bartek' });

Compare that to Electron’s ipcRenderer.send and manually wiring listeners.

Real Dev Experience

If you’re coming from web dev, Electron feels more native to your skills — everything is JavaScript.

Tauri feels cleaner and safer once you’re set up, and has better performance.

Electron is still preferred for complex apps with heavy DOM manipulations, custom browser integrations, or legacy plugins.

Tauri is great for tools, editors, dashboards, internal apps, and when size/performance matters.

Debugging & Native APIs

Feature	Electron	Tauri
Native APIs	Many built-in modules (fs, clipboard, etc.)	Use Rust crates or Tauri plugins
Debugging	Chrome DevTools	Chrome DevTools + native debugger (Rust)
Auto-updates	Built-in	Available via plugin

Tauri has a growing plugin ecosystem, including:

Auto Updater
File System
Notification
Global Shortcut
Window Management

Packaging & Distribution

Electron uses electron-builder or electron-forge
Tauri uses tauri build, and can generate .app, .exe, .deb, .AppImage, etc.
Both support code signing, auto-updates, and CI/CD pipelines

Tauri binaries are code-signed, smaller, and faster to distribute, especially to internal teams or on GitHub Releases.

When to choose what?

Use Case	Go with…
You want pure JS/TS, no Rust	Electron
You care about performance & size	Tauri
You need browser extensions or Chromium-specific features	Electron
You’re building a lightweight internal tool	Tauri
You’re shipping an app to enterprise clients	Tauri
You need plugins for native system access	Either (Tauri has plugins, Electron has Node modules)

Final Thoughts

Electron is still a solid choice - battle-tested, well-documented, and deeply integrated with Node.js.

But Tauri v2 offers a compelling modern alternative:

Lightweight builds
Strong security defaults
Cross-platform with native webview
Simple setup, especially with Vite + Tauri combo

If you’re building a new desktop app in 2025 and want speed, performance, and modern dev experience - Tauri is probably what you want.